The Ocean Race returned to full strength in Aarhus, Denmark on Thursday (8 June) as the VO65 fleet rejoined the race for the European legs.

On a beautiful afternoon with sunny skies, warm temperatures and light sea breeze, racing started with the stakes high for both fleets.

First off were the five VO65s returning to race in the second stage of the VO65 Sprint after a three-month sabbatical. With two legs of racing left, the VO65 leaderboard is wide open and the stage to The Hague is an important opportunity to collect points. The ETA for the finish is Sunday 11 June.

As the afternoon turned to evening it would be the IMOCA fleet on point for an 18:15 start, with the race around the world still wide-open — 11th Hour Racing Team is in pole position, but only one point clear of Team Holcim-PRB. The early evening conditions were extremely light for the IMOCA start, with a new breeze just starting to fill in as the fleet finally left Aarhus behind.

The IMOCA fleet is racing towards the Kiel Fly-By, expected to attract over 100,000 visitors and 1,000 boats to the Kiel Fjord on Friday, with an ETA of mid-afternoon on Friday (9 June) before pushing towards the finish in The Hague.

The stopover in Aarhus has been picture perfect, with the glorious late spring weather drawing big crowds down to Ocean Live Park. The local event organisers estimate between 350,000 and 400,000 fans experience The Ocean Race stopover in Aarhus, including over 7,000 school children who took part in the learning programmes on the Sustainability Island activation site.

The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint - start report

Having dominated both previous in-port races, the pressure was on Pablo Arrarte’s WindWhisper Racing Team (POL) to deliver a repeat performance for Stage 2 of the VO65 Sprint.

In contrast to the very light conditions earlier in the week when they last raced, the breeze was 10 knots across the course at start time.

At the start, WindWhisper Racing Team jumped the gun and were forced to return back to restart. Gerwin Jansen’s Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova (AUT/ITA) were penalised for an infringement at the start and had to take a penalty, sliding back behind the fleet.

This left Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team (DEN) and Team JAJO (NED) to lead the field along the first leg with Viva México (MEX) in third.

At the first mark it was Team JAJO that rounded ahead with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team close on their stern.

After the second lap and as the fleet headed off to the northeast on the start of the offshore leg, it was Team JAJO that had not only held onto their lead but extended it to more than 400m.

Behind them the competition was close with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team in second, Viva México in third with WindWhisper Racing Team nipping at their heels in fourth and Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova in fifth as the fleet passed through the final inshore gate.

From there it was north into the late afternoon sun.

The Ocean Race IMOCA leg 6 - start report

Two hours after the VO65s had left Aarhus the 10-knot breeze died to just two to four knots as the southeasterly sea breeze fought against the northwesterly gradient.

This was frustrating and stressful for the IMOCA fleet for their start to a leg that already promises to be extremely challenging, especially during the next 24 hours through the Fly-By in Kiel.

With such light conditions, all five teams were aiming to minimise manoeuvres which led to a slow drag race into the line, but there was plenty of excitement.

Start of Stage 2 of The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup in Aarhus on Thursday 8 June | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

At the committee boat end, Team Malizia (GER) were playing an aggressive tactical game with Team Holcim-PRB (SUI) that resulted in Holcim-PRB diving behind the German boat before pushing Malizia over the starting line early, forcing them to restart behind the fleet.

Meanwhile, it was 11th Hour Racing Team and Biotherm that made the best starts with Team Holcim PRB close behind.

By the first mark 11th Hour Racing Team had extended their lead over Biotherm with Team Holcim-PRB in third. Further back Malizia had overtaken GUYOT environnement - Team Europe.

On the third leg of this square configuration course, what wind there was swung through 40 degrees turning the reach into an upwind leg.

Halfway down this leg the breeze dropped even further, switching in direction before then dying altogether. As all five boats struggled to make any progress the stress only increased among the teams. All teams knew that in these conditions the first to get the breeze are often able to take a jump on the fleet. The waiting game was nerve-racking.

Slowly, the gradient breeze came in off the land from the northwest and when it did the leader board changed as GUYOT environnement - Team Europe overtook Team Malizia.

So, as the fleet cleared the leaving gate and headed out on the leg towards Kiel, it was 11th Hour Racing Team that led the field, Biotherm second, Team Holcim-PRB third with GUYOT fourth and Malizia just behind in fifth.

The ETA in Kiel is mid-afternoon on Friday, with a finish in The Hague expected on Sunday 11 June.

Rankings at 1825 UTC, 8 June

IMOCA:

1. Biotherm, 782.9 miles to finish
2. 11th Hour Racing Team, 0.3 miles to leader

3. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 0.6 miles to leader
4. Team Malizia, 0.8 miles to leader
5. Team Holcim-PRB, 3 miles to finish

VO65
:

1. Team JAJO, 781.7 miles to finish
2. WindWhisper Racing, 0.1 miles to leader
3. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 1.1 miles to leader
4. Viva México, 2.9 miles to leader
5. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 3.5 miles to leader

Follow both fleets’ progress via the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

At 800 nautical miles, Leg 6 may be the shortest of The Ocean Race 2022-23 but it is also one of the most complex.

From the start in Aarhus. the fleet will head south for a fly-by in Kiel before turning north to head back up the eastern side of Denmark. Once around the top of the country, the fleet exits the Baltic and heads out into the North Sea for the run south to the finish in The Hague, anticipated to be on Saturday evening (10 June).

“The leg to The Hague via Kiel is one of the most complex and ambitious we have taken on,” said race director Phil Lawrence. “The narrow channels and confined waters make it tricky from a navigation point of view, but so too is catering for the large amounts of leisure and commercial traffic as we get close to Kiel. We’ve been told to expect over 100,000 spectators and up to 1,000 boats which has meant a great deal of planning that includes a detailed marshalling schedule.

“As an indication of the local impact that this leg will have, the Kiel canal will be closed for two hours and commercial shipping has been suspended in the immediate area.

“But on top of this, the range of speeds that the IMOCAs are capable of adds another level of complexity. As I’m often told by the IMOCA crews, these boats have four speeds: zero, 10, 20 and 30 knots and not much in between. A small increase in wind strength by a few knots has a big effect on their speed.”

With such a wide range of potential performances, planning for a specific arrival time is clearly difficult. This looks set to be especially tricky given the forecast for the first part of the leg where a light southerly breeze is expected to veer to the northwest during the passage south. Add to this the local effects through the fjord and around islands and the complexity of the leg for organisers and crews is clear to see.

“Compared to a trans-oceanic leg with lots of strategic options, now the focus will be on navigation and the management of transitions, basically getting the timing of sail changes right,” said 11th Hour Racing Team navigator Simon Fisher.

“Deciding whether you invest in getting to the new breeze or stay on track and wait for it to come to you, is going to be one of many key decisions.”

Paul Meilhat, skipper of the In-Port Race-winning Biotherm, agrees that this leg requires a different approach which is reflected in his choice of crew.

“For us this is like what we do a lot in France,” he said. “I’m lucky because I have two Figaro specialists, Alan Roberts and Anthony Marchand who have 25 races between them. Apart from tactics the big issue will be the speed. From 10-12 knots of wind speed the boat speed can leap from 12 knots to 25 knots and with that kind of speed difference it doesn’t take much to stretch out a 30-mile lead.”

Team Malizia’s Will Harris is also thinking about the conditions, especially for the first night.

“Looking at the weather forecast it looks likely that the first stage will be the hardest with light breeze for the first night, with lots of transitions, with the risk of the breeze going around in circles,” he said. “Trying to get out of that cleanly will be really important because if one boat gets the jump on the fleet, they could well hold onto that lead when the conditions settle down as the wind comes in from the east. It’s going to be a coastal race on the first night and it’s going to be intense.”

And then there’s the issue of points. With just one point separating the leaders 11th Hour Racing Team from Team Holcim-PRB and with Team Malizia just four points further back, a shuffle on the leaderboard is a distinct possibility.

The fact that the fleet is now back up to five boats with the return of GUYOT environnement-Team Europe - who arrived in Aarhus on Wednesday after a herculean effort to rejoin the race following their dismasting - provides even greater opportunities for the pecking order to change.

Team JAJO in speed trials in Aarhus on Tuesday 6 June | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

For the VO65 fleet, the route to The Hague is less complex as they do not head south for the Kiel fly-by. Instead, from the start they head north, exit the Baltic and then head south to The Hague. But even without the dive south to Kiel, this is still a challenging leg.

“The number of traffic separation schemes and exclusion zones make this a complex leg to navigate,” said The Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking, who is aboard with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team. “Then there are the wind farms to avoid along with plenty of shipping, there’s plenty to take into account on this leg. The sheer number of waypoints in the sailing instructions for this leg make it very clear.”

So, while this is one of the most ambitious and complex legs, for the teams it is also one of the most tactically challenging for all.

Thursday’s leg start from Aarhus marks the start of Leg 6 of The Ocean Race for IMOCA fleet and the start of Stage 2 of the VO65 Sprint for the VO65 fleet. Racing is scheduled to start at 16:10 CEST for the VO65s and at 18:15 CEST for the IMOCA fleet.

The weather forecast for Thursday is for a light to moderate sea breeze near 7-10 knots, establishing and building as the day progresses.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Aarhus, come down to Ocean Live Park in Havnepladsen to catch the action or follow along on Event TV. Live coverage of the IMOCA start for viewers in Ireland will be on Eurosport and discovery+ from 4.30pm.

Start times – Thursday 8 June (all times local)

VO65 Sprint - Stage 2 - Aarhus to The Hague

16:05 - Warning signal
16:10 - LEG START

IMOCA - Leg 6 - Aarhus -> Kiel fly-by -> The Hague

18:10 - Warning signal
18:15 - LEG START

The sun was shining on Sunday (4 June), as it has been throughout the entire Aarhus stopover, and that meant a building sea breeze would be the order of the day for the In-Port Racing programme.

This marked the return of the VO65 class to The Ocean Race, as the fleet comes back to continue racing in the VO65 Sprint.

In the IMOCA class, with the overall race leaderboard so close at the top, the In-Port Race results take on greater importance as a tie-breaking mechanism for The Ocean Race.

It was a day of comebacks, with the return of the VO65 fleet and Biotherm taking their first win after only arriving in Aarhus yesterday evening.

As the IMOCAs got underway just after 1400 local time (1200 UTC), the sea breeze had built to nearly 10 knots, providing steady conditions for the fleet. The rectangular configuration race course was set at three laps.

As the clock counted down, the first decision for crews was focused on the sail configuration. Judging whether the breeze had built to its peak or whether there was more to come was the key pre-start decision. After that, judging the time on distance approach into the start was critical.

Biotherm and Team Holcim-PRB were closest to the start line in the final moments and appeared to be struggling to kill their pace.

Meanwhile, having started their run from further back, 11th Hour Racing Team looked like they could maintain more of their momentum.

Biotherm wins the IMOCA In-Port Race in Aarhus | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

But as the gun went, it was Biotherm that timed their approach and building speed perfectly to hit the line at the leeward end at pace, gaining the initial advantage as the four boats made their way up the first leg.

By mark one, Biotherm led with Team Holcim-PRB in second, 11th Hour Racing Team third and Team Malizia in fourth.

Leg three saw Biotherm stretch their lead over the fleet on the long reach back down towards the bottom of the course.

Biotherm only arrived in Aarhus late on Saturday night after a difficult and frustrating transatlantic leg, making their dominant performance all the more impressive.

Judging when to tack on leg four to lay the next mark was another key decision to ensure no distance was given away. Once again Biotherm picked the perfect spot and gained over the rest of the fleet as a result. On the second lap they had drawn out to 640m ahead of Holcim-PRB.

Towards the end of that lap Biotherm delivered another perfect rounding of marks three and four to extend their lead even further.

Behind them life wasn’t easy. With a strong incentive to try to cut the distance to the upwind mark there was a temptation to tack too early. Team Holcim-PRB almost fell foul of this but got away with it, while Team Malizia did not and ended up squeezing up to the mark, losing more distance as a result.

On the final lap it was more of the same from Biotherm with a perfect performance stretching the lead even further to take the in-port win in Aarhus.

Meanwhile, 11th Hour Racing team took distance out of Holcim-PRB to the point that on the downwind leg at the top of the course, there was an opportunity for Charlie Enright’s team to gain a place. But sailing low in an attempt to catch Holcim-PRB on the give-way port tack slowed their progress too much and gave away distance instead.

Team Holcim-PRB finished second, 11th Hour Racing Team third and Team Malizia fourth.

“We won the start and when you win the start in an In-Port Race it’s easy after,” Paul Meilhat said following the race. “We were a bit faster off the line than Team Holcim-PRB and that was it. We are really happy and I dedicate this win to our shore team who have worked so hard to get us out here. It’s our first victory so it means a lot to us.”

“It’s a first step for the new crew,” said Team Holcim-PRB skipper Benjamin Schwartz. “We managed to get around the course nicely. We had a bit of tension when 11th Hour Racing Team came back on us a little bit, but the team did a great job to stay in front.”

IMOCA - Aarhus In-Port Race - Results

1. Biotherm - 5 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB - 4 points
3. 11th Hour Racing Team - 3 points
4. Team Malizia - 2 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe - 0 points

Earlier in the day, it had been the VO65s who took to the race course first, in light winds of five to seven knots as the sea breeze was only just getting established.

As the seconds counted down to the start, initially it was WindWhisper Racing Team that appeared to have the early momentum although a round-up manoeuvre at the pin end slowed them down. Instead, it was Team JAJO that got the best start delivering a perfect time-on-distance run into the middle of the start line.

A few minutes later, WindWhisper had built their pace once again to pull themselves into the lead. By the first mark, WindWhisper led, followed by Team Jajo who rounded 16 seconds behind. In third place it was Viva México, closely followed by Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team.

WindWhisper Racing Team leading the fleet in the VO65 Sprint Cup In-Port Race in Aarhus | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

After a short reaching top leg it was a gybe at mark two for a longer broad reaching leg back down towards the start area.

So far the manoeuvres had been kind to the boat speed with bear aways and gybes helping to keep the speed on. Keeping momentum was critical.

Leg four was an upwind affair and it was here that crews came under a great deal more pressure to maintain their pace. For WindWhisper, a well-timed approach and a slight gust provided a smooth mark rounding. The same was true for Team Jajo as the pair stretched their lead on the rest of the fleet.

When it came to the tack to reach mark four, both boats delivered perfect executions, helped by a slight increase in the breeze.

Meanwhile further back, there was a tight battle between third placed Viva México and Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team as the pair duelled for mark four with less than a boat length between them.

The second lap of the course didn’t provide any passing opportunities and skipper Pablo Arrarte’s WindWhisper Racing Team held off Team JAJO for the win. It was a flawless performance and a great win for the Polish team as the VO65 Sprint reignites.

“It’s been awesome to get back into the race,” said WindWhisper skipper Pablo Arrarte. “We’ve been away from the race for a while, watching the IMOCAs, which has been great, but it’s time to get back.

“We’ve had some changes on the crew but had an opportunity to train here for the last 10 days so we were confident we could handle all the situations today. It was a tricky day and the start was so important, but we managed okay and we got a good lead there and we were able to hold it.”

VO65 Sprint - Aarhus In-Port Race - Results

1. WindWhisper Racing - 6 points
2. Team JAJO - 5 points
3. Viva México - 4 points
4. Trifork Mirpuri Racing - 3 points
5. Austrian Ocean Racing / Team Genova - 2 points
6. Ambersail - did not start - 0 points

Conditions in Aarhus have been incredible so far during The Ocean Race stopover and the sunny skies are forecast to continue into Sunday’s In-Port Race (4 June). Crowds have been enjoying the warmth and the city of smiles has been living up to its name.

Sunday’s In-Port Race marks the return of the VO65 fleet as they resume the VO65 Sprint. After racing from Alicante to Cabo Verde in January, the fleet returns with some familiar faces and new sailors getting a first opportunity on the world's greatest crewed offshore race.

For the IMOCA fleet, the In-Port Race series leaderboard acts as a tie-breaking mechanism for the overall results in The Ocean Race. With the points table for the race being so close at the top, results here are very important.

11th Hour Racing Team leads this series and has never finished lower than second place in the four races to date. But despite that impressive streak, they are only one point clear of Team Malizia, while Team Holcim-PRB sits a further six points back.

The VO65 fleet kicks things off on Sunday with racing starting at 12.10 local time (10.10 UTC). Then it will be the IMOCAs at 14.15 local time (12.15 UTC).

The forecast is for a light sea breeze of four to seven knots, which should get more established as the day progresses.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Aarhus, come down to Ocean Live Park in Havnepladsen to catch the action or follow along on Event TV.

In most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and many parts of Asia, Sunday’s In-Port Race will be available live or on demand on the Eurosport app or discovery+ player.

In accordance with The Ocean Race sailing instructions, which allow the race committee to shorten the course for boats still racing, the Leg 5 finish line for Biotherm has been moved to longitude 0-degrees.

Accordingly, the team finished at 10:37:50 UTC on Wednesday (31 May) in fourth place, scoring four points for the leg. Their elapsed time for the shortened course was nine days, 16 hours, 22 minutes and 50 seconds.

While the leg is finished for Biotherm, this hasn’t changed the distance to go to Aarhus, which is still 480 miles away as of Wednesday afternoon — more than two days after 11th Hour Racing Team crossed the finish line in first place.

The team is making way slowly, protecting the stability of the mast despite their broken rigging and is not expected to join the IMOCA fleet at Ocean Live Park before the weekend.

See the latest boat feed from the team, which shows how they are sailing under a jury-rigged shroud towards Aarhus:

Meanwhile, Ocean Live Park in Aarhus is a bustling hub of activity. There has been an opening-day drone show, bands, a VO65 arrival parade of sail, school visits to the learning programme, as well as all manner of entertainment and hospitality. And that’s just the first couple of days.

The Ocean Race Summit takes place on Thursday and the rest of the stopover promises much more in the way of an exciting and engaging visitor experience building up to Sunday’s In Port Racing, ahead of the Leg 6 start next week, with sunshine forecast all the way through.

A drone show entertained onlookers at the Ocean Live Park in Aarhus on Monday 29 May | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Leg 5 positions/points

1. 11th Hour Racing Team - 10 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB - 8 points
3. Team Malizia - 6 points
4. Biotherm - 4 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe - suspended racing

The Ocean Race IMOCA Leaderboard (through Leg 5)

1. 11th Hour Racing Team – 28 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB – 27 points
3. Team Malizia – 24 points
4. Biotherm – 17 points
5. GUYOT envrionnement - Team Europe – 2 points

Skipper Charlie Enright’s smile was as bright as the early morning sun in Aarhus, Denmark on Monday (29 May) as he led his 11th Hour Racing Team to a first-place finish in Leg 5 of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

The win was doubly important — the transatlantic race is a double-points-scoring leg and with the win, 11th Hour Racing Team has climbed to the top of the overall leaderboard for the first time.

“It’s a good feeling to be at the top of the table,” said Enright when he finally stepped ashore. “It’s more important to be on top in July than it is now, but this is a step in the right direction.

“We’ve been trying to make incremental improvements in every area of the campaign,” he said when asked how the team has won the last two legs. “We’ve done that on board the boat, we’ve done that on the technical side, and the logistics side as well as we set ourselves up for success everywhere in the team.”

“We went into this leg knowing that we needed to be aggressive and we needed to have a good result in this leg to stand a chance in the race,” added navigator Simon ‘SiFi’ Fisher. “So we tried to sail aggressively and we sailed our own race. I am very happy to say it worked out nicely — everybody did a tremendous job.”

Nearly four hours after 11th Hour Racing Team won the leg, Team Holcim-PRB took a hard-earned second place finish, holding off Team Malizia who finished just five minutes behind.

“I think we’ve been sailing fast and as well as the others,” Holcim skipper Kevin Escoffier said. “We had a few issues — at the beginning we had to earn some trust in our [new] mast and then we broke the 24-hour record, but it wasn’t quite enough.

“The new IMOCAs are quite extreme — fast but not very comfortable. I can tell you that doing 640 miles in 24 hours is definitely not comfortable! But by finishing in second place, we still have it in our hands to win The Ocean Race.”

For Team Malizia, the third-place finish drops them further behind than they would like on the overall leaderboard, but co-skipper Will Harris was defiant and confident when asked if they could still win the race.

“Of course we can. For sure, definitely. Anything can happen in this race. You have to keep believing all the way to the finish…there is plenty to fight for still,” he said.

“We came so close to catching up to Holcim-PRB at the end there. Unfortunately we didn’t quite get the result that we wanted. We really wanted to get a few more points than that.”

Biotherm remains on the race course, nearing the top of Scotland, and with over 750 nautical miles to go to the finish. The team is sailing slowly, protecting the mast, and won’t be in Aarhus until the end of the week.

Leg Five Rankings at 1600 UTC, 29 May

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, finished on 29/05/2023 at 02:56:49 UTC
2. Team Holcim-PRB, finished on 29/05/2023 at 07:22:03 UTC
3. Team Malizia, finished on 29/05/2023 at 07:27:50 UTC
4. Biotherm, distance to finish, 723.9 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Change may be coming to The Ocean Race. Since the opening leg from Alicante to Cabo Verde, skipper Kevin Escoffier and his rotating cast of characters on Team Holcim-PRB have been firmly positioned at the top of the IMOCAs’ overall race leaderboard.

Now, with just over 250 miles left to the Leg 5 finish line in Aarhus, it is Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team that is keeping the pressure on, racing at eye-watering speeds towards the end of the leg.

A win here — on this double-points scoring leg — would be the second consecutive leg victory for the American-flagged team and would vault the pre-race favourite to the top of the overall race leaderboard.

But it is not over yet. At 1600 UTC on Sunday, the leader had 175 miles to sail and a 26-mile lead to protect. The fast downwind conditions will require some manoeuvring and there are a handful of traffic separation zones — exclusion zones — to navigate.

And if that wasn’t enough, Team Malizia, fresh off their record-breaking run, is lurking just over 40 miles back in third place.

The ETA for the winning boat is after 0430 local time in Aarhus (0230 GMT) in the early hours of Monday morning. Catch the arrival live on eurosport.com.

Meanwhile, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm is having a leg the team would rather forget. Overnight they broke the port shroud, but fortunately the crew are all safe and the team was able to ensure the stability of the mast, though the boat is now sailing more slowly towards Aarhus, well off the pace.

Leg Five Rankings at 1600 UTC, 28 May

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to finish, 175.8 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 26.3 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 41.5 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 723.7 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Records are being set and then broken again on Leg 5 of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

First it was 11th Hour Racing Team, powering to a new standard only to be eclipsed a short time later by Team Holcim-PRB, who appeared to have secured not only a new race record but the outright monohull record for distance covered in 24 hours.

Enter Team Malizia. The trailing boat of the leading trio was the last to nose into the favourable conditions for breaking records: downwind reaching in 25 knots and relatively flat water. Simply ideal for the latest generation IMOCAs.

But if the Malizians had a later start, their endgame was brilliant. On Friday night, near 2220 UTC, the team edged past the mark set by Team Holcim-PRB, and narrowly established the new standard — 641.13 nautical miles covered in 24 hours.

The data will need to ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council to become official, but it is well past the previous mark of 618.01 miles set by the 100-foot maxi yacht Comanche in 2015.

“Congrats to all the team; it feels a little bit unbelievable and still like everyone is hesitant to celebrate but we are super happy and have only good vibes,” said Team Malizia skipper Boris Herrmann.

“It’s great to see that the boat can do so well. We had exceptional conditions with a flat sea, the wind steady from the right direction, the right angle for such a long time… Sometimes, the waves got a little bit shorter and we would slow down to 18 knots and get a bit stuck in the sea. Most of the time the boat would pass the sea perfectly and fly at 27 to 34 knots; it felt really relaxed.

“In a way, it didn’t feel like pushing and we didn’t think we would be able to break the record, so we were quite relaxed most of the time except in the three last hours where the excitement of maybe breaking the record built up.

“And then there was an epic, funny, exciting moment, such a good team spirit and thanks to all the team here and on land and our partners that have made this possible and have built this amazing boat, I am super proud of everyone and Malizia - Seaexplorer.”

The fast pace has also brought the Malizians right back into the race for honours into Aarhus, now trailing the leading 11th Hour Racing Team by just 25 miles. Team Holcim-PRB is squeezed in the middle, just 10 miles back.

The leading pack are now (at 1700 UTC, Saturday) racing off the northern mainland of Scotland, and about to make their turn to the east around towards Denmark. With the blistering pace of the last 48 hours, the ETA into Aarhus has moved up to as early as midnight on Sunday night (28 May).

Elsewhere, the fourth boat in the fleet, Biotherm, continues its private race, having fallen into a different weather pattern. Skipper Paul Meilhat and his team are in good spirits, but over a full day behind the leaders.

Leg Five Rankings at 1700 UTC, 27 May

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to finish, 600.6 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 19.3 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 24.9 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 602.6 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Skipper Kevin Escoffier and his Team Holcim-PRB have shattered the existing 24-hour distance records in the monohull class.

First to fall was The Ocean Race 24-Hour Speed Record Challenge sponsored by Ulysse Nardin, previously set at 602 nautical miles by Simeon Tienpont’s Team AkzoNobel in the last race.

A few hours later and the outright monohull record, 618 nautical miles, set by the 100-footer Comanche in 2015, had been eclipsed. Both records are pending ratification by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

As of 0630 UTC on Friday morning (26 May), Team Holcim-PRB had peaked at 640.9 nautical miles. And by Friday evening UTC they’d taken the lead in Leg 5 from 11th Hour Racing Team too.

Conditions have been near perfect for making a record run — downwind reaching, in 25-27 knots of wind, with a relatively flat sea state.

Escoffier commented on their success: “It’s a great boat and I’m really pleased! It’s not every day you break a record like this.

“I’m really happy for the whole team after what happened on the fourth leg [when the team retired after dismasting]. We don’t know what’s going to happen next, even if we’re going to do everything we can to win this leg. In any case, I think it’s a great reward for the whole team.”

The previous race record holder, Simeon Tienpont, was effusive in his admiration for the new achievement.

“Big congratulations to the Holcim-PRB crew,” he said. “When I woke up this morning it brought a big smile to my face… For me personally it’s great to see these boats crushing the race record but also the 24-hour record by beating a 100-foot maxi yacht. That is just insane! I think It’s really good for the sport; it shows what we are capable of these days, with all the foiling techniques and innovations.

“It must be unbelievably exciting for those guys — I think this is a record that will be hard to break.”

Team Holcim-PRB hasn’t been alone on this record-breaking mission. In fact, the first into the favourable conditions was 11th Hour Racing Team which was also the first to push past the existing race record.

But the boat topped out its run at 611.9 nautical miles, all the more remarkable considering the team reported a collision with what the crew suspect to be “a marine mammal or megafauna”.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the boat came to a sudden stop and according to the team, trimmer Charlie Dalin suffered a suspected mild concussion, while media crew member Amory Ross injured his shoulder.

After consultation with the onshore race doctor, who has prescribed rest and monitoring, the team is continuing to race towards Aarhus. The boat does not appear to be damaged and remains at the front of the fleet.

Now within 50 miles of the front IMOCA pair, Team Malizia was the last of the leading trio to enter the ‘record run’ conditions and the team has been posting impressive stats throughout the day.

Further back, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm crew is still battling different conditions to the leading trio, and although their boat speed is rising they are now nearly 500 miles behind.

The ETA for the finish in Aarhus has moved forward with the record-breaking conditions to this Monday 29 May.

Leg Five Rankings at 1900 UTC, 26 May

1. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 1,009.2 miles
2. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 3.1 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 46.1 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 487.1 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

It’s going to be an interesting 24 hours in Leg 5 of The Ocean Race 2022-23 as the leading trio find themselves in strong downwind reaching conditions and ‘relatively’ flat water — a combination that could produce a new 24-hour distance record.

11th Hour Racing Team, at the head of the IMOCA fleet, is already posting a run of over 550 miles for the past 24 hours, a number that is currently going up with each hourly position report.

“We’ve got plenty of wind, there’s a bit more pressure than forecast, and it’s still a little bumpy, but we got out across the front earlier than the other guys which seems to be a gain for now,” said 11th Hour Racing Team’s skipper Charlie Enright. “And we just had 31 knots as a 10-minute average, which isn’t nothing!”

Team Holcim-PRB and Team Malizia, in second and third place respectively, are striving to match that pace. This is a flat-out drag race, with limited tactical opportunities.

“It’s a speed course, not a strategic course, at the moment,” said Yann Eliès on Team Malizia. “When we get close to Aarhus it becomes more of a coastal race with some more strategic options.”

Race meteorologist Christian Dumard explains: “The three first boats are sailing around the high pressure weather system in strong southerly winds, while Biotherm couldn’t cross the front and is in upwind conditions. For the leaders, the wind could still be quite strong through Friday, before the it shifts to the northwest.”

Dumard adds that the current forecast is for light winds near the finish, which could provide wholesale changes for the leaders. “Anything could happen,” he says.

“It’s been tough for us, we got caught behind the fleet in the light winds leaving Newport and we’ve since had some technical issues on board — the autopilot and our electronics,” said Alan Roberts on Biotherm. “We also had a sail lock break and we needed to recover the J3 headsail out of the water — we’ve lost a few hours dealing with these problems.”

Those lost hours and miles are now compounding as Biotherm is on the unfavourable side of the front and still pushing more upwind. “The sea state has been pretty messy so we’ve had to back off in the nasty conditions,” Roberts adds. “It is what it is. All we can do is to keep going as fast as possible in the weather conditions we have.”

Leg Five Rankings at 1700 UTC, 25 May

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to finish, 1,655.4 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 19.3 miles
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 83.3 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 264.4 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.